Do you have to be able to speak French to play poker in a French casino? I was in Nice at Thanksgiving and passed up a 125 Euro tourney because of the language barrier. I'm going again tomorrow for a couple of days and I'd like to play there.

Any advice or experience playing in foreign countries?

(p.s. had the same problem in Moscow last month. Went to a bar called Hot Dog that had 2 tables going, but was afraid to sit since I speak only about 5 words of Russian.)

Judging by the number of people here in the states who play but don't speak a lick of English, I would say it's likely just your comfort level that will dictate whether you should play in France or not.

i was in nice france back in november and there are no casinos there besides casino monaco which does not offer poker...not to mention 10 euros to enter the casino. and ppl do speak english there... u just have to attempt to speak french otherwise they will not give a s**t... Est-ce que tu parles anglais? (do u speak english?) say that and it will go a long way

I played at the Aviation Club and loved it. No problem. Like hockeyhero31 says, a little French goes a long way.

Learn to say "bon soir" ror "bon jour" when you walk in and then "je ne compris pa" (I don't understand) and "Je ne parle pas français" (I don't speak French) and you'll get more credit than you might think.

Chilee has a great sticky in the Franophone forum on where to play poker in France and the guys there are pretty helpful. Stop by.

Well, I must have gone to a different Nice than you. I've only been there about a dozen times in the last year and I stay in the Radisson right across from the beach. A 10 minute walk East towards old town Nice passes two casinos which both have poker.

bah...everytime i asked if there was a casino everyone told me monaco...i walked the entire streets of nice including old town where i spent majority of time and didnt see a caisno.. oh well i will know for next time as i loved nice and the whoel french rivieria..i may end up moving there one day..where are u staying in nice btw and what ar eu doing there?

Shouldn't be a concern (I'm from Marseille and I believe it wouldn't be a concern here either ; now Nice is waaaaay more turistic).

BTW, yes you can play cash game in at least two casinos in Nice and probably 10 more in the area (Cannes..), and yes there are tournaments (though with awfull structures and on semi-regular basis)

Nice sarcasm.

Staying at the Radisson Hotel. I am an airline pilot and I bid for Nice trips whenever I can. In the next month, going to Venice, Budapest, Nice, Sao Paulo and Amsterdam.

I haven't played poker anywhere out of the states yet and I'd love to.

I'm writing this from my room in Nice, in fact. Went and checked the casinos tonight, determined to play in spite of not speaking any French. Must have been too early though. Only one table and the sign said 250 Euro 5/5, which I assume means that's the buy in, but I don't get having the blinds the same (if that's what that is).

Anyway, table was full and they wouldn't let me watch so I left. Maybe I'll go back tomorrow afternoon.

Thanks Jason, I was afraid it wouldn't come through.

hey guys!
i just decided to fly to nice / monaco this weekend.
does anyone have some good adresses where i can play some nlhe / plo ?
thanks in advance

I presume it's because the smallest chip is a 5? Tends to be a euro thing, we don't tend to have monster stacks in a cash game and will often have more than 2 colours in play.

The Bike's $300-$500 buyin NL game is 5/5 blinds. It's not that unusual.

yea 5/5 is not unusual at all in europe.
i've been to Nice a few times when i was underaged so i couldn't go in the casino, but there was one near the negresco hotel, do you mean this one or is there another one?

edit:
ok found it, it's the "Casino Palais Méditerranée in 15 Promenade Anglais, 06000 Nice", right?
5/5 with 250€ min buy in sounds pretty good, i plan to play there this friday.

edit2:
lol damn it, looks like this isn´t a casino at all

Yes, that's the one. And there's another one within a block of it.

I was in Nice, France. I try to pick places to vacation that have casinos where I can play poker, preferably tournaments. I was excited to see that Casino Barriere has both cash games and tournaments. I went in, registered with my passport, and was told to come back at 9 pm, since that was when the card room opened.

Somewhat disappointed, I went away and returned at 9 pm. The card room was empty. There were three dealers and a TD sitting on their whatever. The TD told me to come back at 10 pm, when there MIGHT be a game.

In disgust, I went to the famous Monte Carlo the next day. The guys there said there is no more poker there since "there was a problem a few years ago".

After having visite Berlin and Prague before coming to Nice, where there was a (relatively) lively poker scene, I am flabbergasted. Quoth the raven.......

Even if it had run you prolly wouldve been flabbergasted by the rake

Poker is pretty much dead in Nice, and also in other places in Cote d'Azur.

You should have checked the Barriere Casino at Cannes which is still live.

Besides, rake is 4 % no cap in french casinos.